Aux Prés Cyril Lignac — Restaurant in Paris

My wife and I went here with good friends for dinner. Generally speaking, the food was solid if not spectacular, cocktails great, atmosphere lovely - as it was the last time I went. The problems started with how the front of house and the staff attending our table managed our time in the restaurant. There are two slots from memory - 7.30 and 9.30. We took the first and arrived a little closer to 7.45 - from that point we were reminded no fewer than 5 times we had to vacate the table at 9.30- including at 9.35pm. I have no problem with the general premise of managing covers and time slots - its a business - but given the money we spent that evening, the management of the issue was awful. Mention it once, maybe twice then back off. When I mentioned it on the way out, the manager didn't offer a hint of an apology - more accused me of being out of line in raising the issue an basically implied 'its the system so like it or lump it'. Classic example of tone-deaf service spoiling a nice evening. Wont be going back, for...

Revisited - the satay beef still has very good flavors, but there is not as much satay sauce as last time so it is very disappointing. I ordered that crab galette appetizer. To be honest I would not recommend it. It is too greasy because of the curry mayo and the avocado and the fried tortilla. It is basically curry flavored layers of pure fat. And this dish costs €28. A calorie bomb and a complete waste of money.

The fried potato tastes better this time. Less butter so it tastes more like potato. Their food greatly exceeded my expectation. The satay beef fillet is amazing. Unlike the typical satay sauce used on the chicken, their unique satay sauce greatly enhances the flavor of the beef, more savory, more powerful and more aromatic.

The Mille-feuille potato is quite interesting. The edges are extremely crispy and the interior is moist. Although I l would love it even more if less butter were used.

All in all, a surprisingly...

I don't know why the Cityvox review only rates a single star; if you read the review, nothing bad is said. We were first introduced to this place by a friend of ours who lives in southern France and who visits Paris often. It is especially known for beef, but has good fish and other dishes as well. The walls are adorned with photos of the presidents of the republic, and the ambience is totally French. (Well, that's why you came here, right?) I've had the tartares of beef and of salmon, and the cote de boeuf for two, and the escargots, and some of the desserts. All excellent. I didn't think most of the wine was a particularly good buy, but the cote de bourg was good. We've been three times now, over two trips to Paris. The third time we took a few French friends of ours and were relieved that they liked it as well...